CB34CH08_Ribbeck ARI 11 September 2018 9:10 Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology Mucins and Their Role in Shaping the Functions of Mucus Barriers C.E. Wagner,1,∗ K.M. Wheeler,2,3,∗ and K. Ribbeck2 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA 2Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA; email:
[email protected] 3Microbiology Graduate Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 2018. 34:189–215 Keywords First published as a Review in Advance on mucus, mucin, rheology, microbiological interactions, structure, May 11, 2018 permeability The Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology is online at cellbio.annualreviews.org Abstract https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100617- We review what is currently understood about how the structure of the pri- 062818 mary solid component of mucus, the glycoprotein mucin, gives rise to the Copyright c 2018 by Annual Reviews. mechanical and biochemical properties of mucus that are required for it to Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 2018.34:189-215. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org All rights reserved ∗ perform its diverse physiological roles. Macroscale processes such as lubri- These authors contributed equally to this article cation require mucus of a certain stiffness and spinnability, which are set by Access provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on 05/02/19. For personal use only. structural features of the mucin network, including the identity and density of cross-links and the degree of glycosylation. At the microscale, these same features affect the mechanical environment experienced by small particles and play a crucial role in establishing an interaction-based filter.